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Challenge of the GoBots
Challenge of the GoBots (or simply GoBots) is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the Gobots toy-line released from Tonka. The show was first broadcast in syndication on September 8, 1984,http://www.warnerbros.com/tv/challenge-gobots-original-miniseries then the show joined the weekday/weekend programming block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera on September 15, 1985. It was later rerun on the USA Cartoon Express. Summary GoBots dealt with two opposing forces of transforming robots from the planet Gobotron: the heroic Guardians and the evil Renegades. The Guardians were led by Leader-1 while the Renegades were led by Cy-Kill. The characters rarely had guns, instead shooting energy blasts out of their fists. The female robots on the series, such as Crasher, were built like the males, but with some distinguishing female features. The GoBots' origin as GoBings accounted for the presence of genders among the robots. The series generally focused on a small number of robots from each faction (Leader-1, Turbo, Small Foot, Sparky and Scooter vs. Cy-Kill, Fitor, Geeper-Creeper, Cop-Tur, Crasher and Tank) who were virtually ever-present with other characters seeming to rotate in "guest-star" roles. GoBots had no clear division between the two factions. The characters had no identifying insignias or markings to indicate their allegiance, although it was indicated on the toy packaging. Likewise, there was no commonality of design within each faction. The only "theme" to a side was that anything that turned into a "monstrous"-looking robot or vehicle was a Renegade. Plot In the series’ backstory, thousands of years ago on the planet Gobotron, there lived a race of human-like organic beings referred to as “GoBings.” Civil war erupted on the planet when the power-hungry terrorist group known as the Renegades arose, led by a madman dubbed the “Master Renegade,” who waged war against the peaceful Guardians. When a Renegade sabotage operation inadvertently resulted in a gigantic asteroid colliding with Gobotron, the natural disasters that resulted from the asteroid’s impact pushed the GoBings to the verge of extinction. However, the genius who became known as the “Last Engineer” saved his people, taking his experiments to replace parts of his own body with mechanical substitutes to the ultimate extent and transferring the brains of the GoBings into large robots known as “GoBots.” The GoBots possessed an additional ability; after being run through the device named the Modifier, the GoBots’ bodies were able to transform into other vehicles. His work done, the Last Engineer intended to retreat to a pre-prepared workshop elsewhere in the galaxy, but the Master Renegade stole his ship and escaped in his stead. The Last Engineer placed himself into suspended animation beneath the surface of Gobotron, while above, the war continued to rage between the Guardians and the Renegades, now all encased in GoBot shells. In the last quarter of the 20th Century, the planet Earth became involved in the conflict between Leader-1’s Guardians and Cy-Kill’s Renegades. During one of these battles, one of Leader-1’s lieutenants, Turbo, became severely damaged. Unwilling to let his friend and teammate die, Leader-1 began his quest to find the legendary Last Engineer. Leader-1 found the person he believed to be the Last Engineer, but Leader-1 had unwittingly released the Master Renegade (though he did repair Turbo to gain the Guardians’ trust). The Guardians later found the true Last Engineer, who was instrumental in frustrating the alliance between Cy-Kill’s Renegades and the Master Renegade. The Master Renegade later escaped the custody of the Renegades, and plagued both factions, notably attacking the UniCom colony of New Earth. Characters Episodes # A Battle for Gobotron Episode 1 Battle for Gobotron # A Battle for Gobotron Episode 2 Target Earth # A Battle for Gobotron Episode 3 Conquest of Earth # A Battle For Gobotron Episode 4 Earth Bound # A Battle For Gobotron Episode 5 The Final Conflict # It’s the Thought That Counts # Renegade Alliance # Time Wars # Terror in Atlantis # Trident’s Triple Threat # Lost on Gobotron # Cy-Kill’s Shrinking Ray # The Quest for Roguestar # Ultra Zod # Sentinel # Cy-Kill’s Cataclysmic Trap # Speed Is of the Essence # Genius and Son # Dawn World # Pacific Overtures # Forced Alliance # An Invasion from the 21st Level Episode 1 # An Invasion from the 21st Level Episode 2 # Doppelganger # Scooter Enhanced # Tarnished Image # Cold Spell # Crime Wave # Auto Madic # Renegade Rampage Episode 1 # Renegade Rampage Episode 2 # In Search of Ancient Gobonauts # Gameworld # Wolf in the Fold # Depth Charge # Transfer Point # Steamer’s Defection # The GoBot Who Cried Renegade # The Seer # Whiz Kid # Ring of Fire # The Gobotron Saga Episode 1 Cy-Kill’s Escape # The Gobotron Saga Episode 2 Quest for the Creator # The Gobotron Saga Episode 3 The Fall of Gobotron # The Gobotron Saga Episode 4 Flight to Earth # The Gobotron Saga Episode 5 Return to Gobotron # Destroy All Guardians # Escape from Elba # Fitor to the Finish # Clutch of Doom # The Third Column # A New Suit for Leader-1 # Renegade Carnival # The Gift # Nova Beam # The Last Magic Man # Braxis Gone Bonkers # Inside Job # Element of Danger # Mission: Gobotron # Et Tu, Cy-Kill? # The GoBots That Time Forgot # The Secret of Halley’s Comet # Guardian Academy # Quest for New Earth Cast * Arthur Burghardt—Turbo * Frank Welker—Scooter, Blaster, Rest-Q, Screw Head, Zeemon * Bernard Erhard—Cy-Kill * Marilyn Lightstone—Crasher, Path Finder * Bob Holt—Cop-Tur * Morgan Paull—Matt Hunter * Sparky Marcus—Nick Burns * Leslie Speights—A.J. Foster * René Auberjonois—Dr. Braxis * Ken Campbell—Van Guard * Jimmy Weldon—Additional voices * Philip L. Clarke—Dr. Go, Tork * Peter Cullen—Pincher, Spoiler, Tank * Paul Eiding—Scorp * Phil Hartman—Baron Von Joy * Richard Gautier—Bugsie * Brock Peters—General Newcastle * Peter Renaday—Master Renegade * Lou Richards, Jr.—Leader-1 * B.J. Ward—Small Foot * Kelly Ward—Fitor * Kirby Ward—Heat Seeker Home media Various episodes of the show had been released on VHS and Betamax by Vestron Video under its Children’s Video Library label in the 1980s. On May 17, 2011, Warner Archive released Challenge of the GoBots: The Original Miniseries on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner’s online store and Amazon.com. On May 6, 2014, Warner Archive released Challenge of the GoBots: The Series, Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1. The three-disc set features the first 30 episodes of the series. The final volume Challenge of the GoBots: The Series, Volume 2, which contains the last remaining 30 episodes of the show, was released on March 10, 2015. The 1984 Ruby-Spears television film, Robo Force: The Revenge of Nazgar, is included as a special feature. Adaptations The show spawned an animated, feature-length film Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords which opened in theaters on March 21, 1986, a little over four months before The Transformers: The Movie (August 8). Clips from the show were also used in Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap and Out of Control. Additional GoBots storyline was later released on the Transformers Facebook pages “Ask Vector Prime” and “Renegade Rhetoric,” with GoBots characters also appearing in storyline from Fun Publications. See also * GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986) * The Transformers (TV series) References External links * Challenge of The Gobots: The Original Miniseries at WBshop.com * * Category:1984 American television series debuts Category:1985 American television series endings Category:1980s American animated television series Category:American children's animated action television series Category:American children's animated space adventure television series Category:American children's animated science fantasy television series Category:American animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Television series by Hanna-Barbera Category:The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Category:Gobots Category:Animated television series about robots GoBots Category:Television shows based on Hasbro toys Category:Television series scored by Ennio Morricone Category:Television series scored by Henry Mancini Category:Television series scored by Leonard Rosenman